Organising ourselves should be relatively simple these days given the amount of technology we own. Our PCs have a calendar function, and smartphones and hand-held computers offer the same kind of thing - as do some "ordinary" phones.

Some people, however, expect more, and some of us are happier dealing with a person than with a gadget whose batteries are liable to run out at the least helpful time. For many of these people the answer is straightforward: get some sort of personal assistant service.

The thing is, what sort? Software-only services abound. MobilePA is pretty good (mobilepa.com) it will collect emails and sort them according to priority, keep your diary and contacts - even pick up a selection of newspapers and send them to your mobile phone.

What MobilePA won't do is take a phone message or act as a virtual receptionist; but it's accessible remotely and keeps you pointed in the right direction. An alternative might come from your mobile phone company; if it offers an online diary service that synchronises with your phone and allows you to pick up emails remotely then you could find you've all but wiped out any advantage in using MobilePA.

But all that is only one part of a non-virtual PA's job. Another part of the job is copy typing, for which there are specialist agencies that will work through your computer.

Rob Morfield, of Morfield Everest Chartered Surveyors, opted to use Outsec (www.outsec.co.uk) instead of a local typing service two years ago. It wasn't a problem with the typist, he stresses, it was a matter of convenience. He visits a site, dictates his report into a digital voice recorder, uploads the file, and it comes back typed in Word.

"I was a bit unsure of how to use a digital dictaphone at first, but it's quite straightforward," he says. "It's a very efficient service and very quick, and I know I couldn't do it by post - there were a couple of occasions on which I lost the tape in the post and I know that can't happen doing this." He also saves the time that would otherwise have been spent visiting the post office and queuing. "Ninety-nine times out of 100 I am not in a position where I'm waiting for a report to be typed up, which is better for the client."

If you want a lower level of virtual support, you can go for a pick-and-mix strategy, choosing a selection of online and "real world" services that suits your needs. But many want a full service approach, and would like someone to handle all their organisational needs. Tony Waldron is managing director of Executive Communication Centres, as well as chair of the Business Centre Association, which covers 600 service centres across the country.

"There are huge benefits to working from home and also to working from a large office," he says. "What the serviced office industry offers is a sort of half-way house.

"Although there is a growing requirement for people to work remotely, it can be isolating and it's difficult to offer a professional approach if people want to come and see you." Hence you can have not only a virtual PA but also a hub, hiring office space as and when you need it rather than spending when you don't need it.

Many people have most of this sorted out, however, and want a pure-play PA service. The Surrey Enterprise Hub is one such organisation; a not-for-profit company funded by the regional development agency and local partners to help start-up businesses.

Director Marilyn Huckerby explains that their limited budget made a virtual PA service very appealing. "We didn't have enough administration work to be able to justify a fill time person," she says. "Also, the workload doesn't readily fit into a part time role with a person working fixed hours during the week. With a virtual PA we get he tasks done when we need them."

The selection process is important. "Before taking on e-nough (e-nough.biz) we checked that the tasks we needed to be covered off were within the services offered," says Huckerby. "We needed to know that they understood our business and would be able to operate as part of our team, albeit that this would be mainly through phone, email and intranet."

E-nough managing director, Haley Dwyer, finds that the people who come to her are mostly a little beyond the start-up stage. "Start-ups seem to have little revenue so they seem to do everything themselves," she says. "Once they're over that they start looking around for help." It's a good idea to take the virtual option into account when considering the help that's needed, she suggests, thanks to a number of factors.

"[We offer] a wider skill set, we tend to be able to help not just in a general PA capacity but in a sales support area as well. We have knowledge of a broad base of industries that will transfer quite well and, of course, there's the cost; smaller businesses don't necessarily know whether they want someone from Monday to Wednesday, or they don't want someone working from their home." The service works either on project bases or long-term: "We do have people who could probably employ but they're used to us and we know their business very well," says Dwyer.

So far, so professional; everybody knows, though, that the classic image of the boss asking the PA to arrange flowers for his or her spouse has to come from somewhere. This is why services such as start-up Asktez.co.uk take a more generic approach; priced on a task-by-task basis, the idea is that you can ask for any service as long as the fee reflects the complexity of the task and the time taken.

"The service is directed at professionals who are very busy and who just don't have the time to do some things," says director Terry Chiu. "Things like if they want to find a piece of information, maybe a local plumber or something - we'll handle it. We haven't had anyone asking to pick up their laundry yet!"